Justice David Hammerschlag of the NSW Supreme Court has a way with words that readily lends itself to dramatic courtroom headlines. The “Hammer,” as he is known, also pulls no punches and is quick with one liners that keep counsel on their toes. Here, Lawyerly looks at some of the recent best moments inside courtroom 7D.
High-end jewellery retailer Tiffany & Co has won its bid to block Sydney Metro from accessing privileged documents in a dispute over the compulsory acquisition of its store in Sydney’s Martin Place for the $2.7 billion Sydney Metro rail project.
The NSW government’s Sydney Olympic Park Authority, which is facing a class action brought by owners of apartments at the troubled Opal Tower, has laid the blame on the developer, designer and builder behind the project.
The plaintiffs firms running rival shareholder class actions against construction giant Lendlease have pitched a proposal to join their competing cases, a plan that should find favour with the judge overseeing the cases, who recently forced the consolidation of three duplicate class actions against failed engineering firm RCR Tomlinson.
The High Court has cleared the way for victims of a rubbish tip fire that tore through 17,000 acres of farmland in the NSW Riverina to claim more than $20 million in damages in a class action, after rejecting an appeal bid by the local council.
Law firm Holding Redlich has defended national managing partner Ian Robertson against allegations by NSW Labor Party general secretary Kaila Murnain that the lawyer advised her to keep quiet about a $100,000 illegal political donation.
The NSW Supreme Court has ordered the lead plaintiff in a class action over the Sydney light rail construction project to pay $1.25 million in security for costs to Transport for NSW ahead of discovery, which is expected to cost $2.26 million.
A judge has ruled that a former executive of cyber security firm Secure Logic Group, who took advice from a lawyer to destroy the contents of a personal computer that allegedly contained confidential infomation from the company, has waived legal professional privilege over the communication.
The NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority will hold a public inquiry with the powers of a royal commission to examine James Packer’s proposed sale of Crown Resorts shares to gaming mogul Lawrence Ho’s Melco Resorts & Entertainment.
Construction group Icon Co has dragged insurers Liberty Mutual Insurance and QBE Underwriting to court for allegedly refusing to provide coverage after the Opal Tower disaster in December last year, which led to thousands of residents being evacuated.